Mechanism for high speed tickers



2 Sheets-Sheet l E. P. BANCROFT MECHANISM FOR HIGH SPEED TICKERS FiledMay l2, 1932 INVENTOR ERwlN n sANcRoFT BY //Qfgad/ ATTORNEY Oct. 3l,1933.

OCt. 31, E p BANCROFT MECHANISM FOR HIGH SPEED TICKERS Filed May l2,1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ERWIN E BANCROF' lav/66a plz ATTORNEYPatented ct. 314, 19,33

MESHANESM FR HIGH SPEED TICKERS national Communications Laboratories,

Inc., Newark, N. J., a corporation of New York Application May 12, H32..Serial No. 610,804

19 Claims.

My Vinvention relates to Yiinprovenients in .telegraph Iprinters andespecially to vsuch printers used -in :high speed systems.

The object of my invention is to .providea device .whichis capable `oi?operation at highspeeds, which is quiet and reliable, and in whichshocksusually associated with rapid operation have been reduced to a-minimuin.

The device is oi the well-known start-stopitype and is arranged `to tbeloperated by code signals consisting .of a start ,impulse followed bysix Vselecting impulses and a stop impulse, all of equal length.

Iuse a .type .wheelwhich is rotated undercontrol .oi a plurality .ofrotatable slidable cams, similar to those described in my U..S. PatentNo. 1,927,597, which are adjusted inaccordance with received signals, asdescribed infrny U. 3S. Patent No. 1,931,699.

L The `earns are arranged in two groups, one of the groups controllingthe primary or group move,- ment of the type wheel, so thatthecharacters may be associated witha yprinter hammer in predeterminedgroups. The other group of cams 2 controls the secondary :movement ofthe wheel so that a particular character of the selected group may belocated before the printer hammer and the hamr ier, when operated, Vwillrecord the individual character of the group .with which -it is aligned.

in the arrangement chosen tor illustrate my invention, the iirst groupof cams is .arranged to control the position of a slidable rack which,in turn, is coupled to the type wheel by suitable differential gearingand serves to locate thetype wheel in any of eight different positions,as ,determined vby the received signals. The second group of. camscontrols the position of a lever connected to the dilerential gearing insuch a G way as to locate-the .type wheel in anyone of four positionsintermediate the positions determined bythe rst group of cams. The type.wheel may thereby be positioned to any one of -thirtytwoV chosenpositions. The controls may be arranged -to operate simultaneously, asshown in the illustration, so that the actual jmovement of the typewheel is a composite of the movement determined by the individualcontrols; or, if desired, the controls may be arranged to operate insequence in any order desired.

Various features of my invention will be point.- ed out in the detailed.description Yto follow. My invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein: V A

Fig. lshows the .development-of Athe surface .0I the rotatable switchingdevice;

Fig. 2 -shows the essentiaL-features ofthe .printf ing device; Aand FIndescribing :my invention vlwill'arst -referlto Fig. 1 and fdeseribe the@operationof :the slidable switches .which :form .paths for V.theguiding pins `and L80 of .Fig.;2; after which the effect produced bythese guidi-ng pins will b e described in detail in connectionwith Eig.f2. .'Ihe guiding pins .'ZO andiSO of =Fig. 1 areshown in `dottedcircles and .positioned y*so that their cci-operation with the various paths may be readily understood.

vReferringto Fig. l, whichgshows `thedeveloped i surface of Cylindrical.switchingcam r1.,.Slides 21, 2,2, '2.3, ,2.4, 25 and :26 are .arrangedto :be .moved to the vright or le-t by the wedges .3;1, 32, 33, 34, 35and 436, A,mounted thereon, .depending upon which 4path *the wedgesfollow .in passing through the guide zmemberlB.

The member 13 iis xedly mounted on `the frame (not shown) `-in such .aposition that, as the cylinder y1 rotatesythewedges 311to 3.6 on'theends of slides .21 Ito .26,.1espectivel3/T., will .pass :through thegrooved portion 15 .of .member 13 and .at one instant vbe centeredbetween their extreme rightand leit-.hand positions.

.Located ust past Vthis centering point isa knife-edged switch 14carredzby the armature 10 of the receiving relay which v responds vtothe incoming signals .andiis provided with `.windings 8 and 9. Theswitch 14 is arranged to guide the slides 2l Ato 2.6 into either ,their.leftorrrighthand positions inaccordance ivithfthe positioning ofarmature 1.0 at the time the' points of the wedges `pass :the -point of.thetsw-itch 14, inthe manner described `in U. S. .Patent No. 1,931,099,above referred t0..

If, as the member 1 rotates, the switch 14 is in the position shown,when the wedge .33 vpasses the ,narrow kportion vof the groove 15 itwill be guided into the groove 16 and force .the Slide .'23 to Vtheleft, placing the switch .40, carriedthereby,'in fsuch a `position .asto open a path .for pin 70 (shown in detail in -Fig.;2,) to the. right.The switch 14 Will be in the `position shown When a marking signa-ijsreceived.

If a spacing signal .had been received, :the switch 14 would havevbeen'n'ioved to the left, in which case Wedge 3.3 would have beenguidedgto the right .through kgroove 17 :Slide 23 wouldthcn be in theposition shown, and the path for the pin 70 would be to the left. Thus.,`'theOperation vor" the receiving relay ito marking or spacing will '110determine which of the two paths, to the right or left of switch 40, thepin 70 will follow.

In the same way switch 14, in conjunction with wedges 34 and 35, willdetermine the positions of slides 24 and 25 in accordance with thesignals received at the time these wedges pass the narrow portion of thegroove 15. Slide 24 carries two switches 41 and 42 which serve tofurther control the path open to pin 70. Slide 25 carries four switches43, 44, 45 and 46 which further control the path open to pin 79. Bymoving the slides 23, 24 and 25 in combinations, eight different pathscan be opened for pin 70 and thus eight different nal positions, 51 to58 inclusive, can be determined by the proper combinations of signalsthrough the receiving relay.

The set of slides 21 and 22 and their associated switches 27, 28 and 29,when operated in combinations, determine in which one of the four finalpositions 64, 65, 65 or 67 the pin 80 will come to rest at thecompletion of the operation of drum 1. Y

The movement of the pin 70 in assuming any position 51 to 58 inclusivecauses a corresponding primary movement` of the type wheel. The movementof the pin in assuming any position G4 to 67 inclusive causes acorresponding secondary movement of the type wheel. The primary movementcauses the type wheel to rotate, to select one of eight groups of fourcharacters each. The secondary movement of the type wheel causes anindividual character in the selected group to be aligned with theprinter hammer. The position assumed by the cam 37 on slide 26 causesthe operation of either the upper or lower printer hammers, shown inFig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 2, the member 1 is mounted upon a normally at restshaft 2, which is coupled to a normally rotating shaft 15 by means of aclutch 3 of any standard form, such as that disclosed in United StatesReissue Patent No. 17,725 to F. G. Creed, granted July 8, 1930. Shaft 15is driven, by any well-known means, such as a constant speed motor, at aspeed corresponding with the frequency of the received signals as iswell known in the art.

The clutch is operated by the armature 4 of the magnet 5, when it isenergized by the signal relay 20 in response to spacing signals, thatis, when the armature 10 is attracted by the core of winding 8. Inresponse to marking signals the armature 10 is attracted by the core' ofwinding 9.

The pins 79 and 8O follow designated paths on member 1, as determined bythe position of the slides 21 to 25 under control of the guiding switch14, which in turn is under control of receiving relay 20 in response tomarking and spacing signals, as described in connection with Fig. 1.

The rack 71, which carries the pin 70, is provided with teeth 72 whichengage the gear 73 mounted on shaft 74. Shaft 74 is iournaled insuitable bearings not shown. Gear 73, in turn,

, meshes with gear 75, rigidly fastened to shaft 76, which also carriesgear 77 rigidly attached thereto. Gear 77 meshes with gear 78, rigidlyfastened to shaft 84, which also carries the type wheel having two rowsof type on its periphery. Shaft 84 is mounted in suitable bearings inline with the axis of shaft 74. The type wheel 85, through the gearingjust described and the rack 71, will be turned and positioned inaccordance with the positioning of pin 70 by the set of switches onmember 1.

Lever 81 is pivoted to rotate about the axis of shafts 74 and 84 andcarries on one end a bearing 83 for shaft 76. Pin 80 is mounted on theend of lever 81 opposite the bearing 83. Pin 89 is under control ofswitches on member 1, as shown and described in connection with Fig. 1.The movement of pin 80 causes the shaft 76 to swing about shaft 74 as apivot. Since gears 73-75 and 77-78 are other than unity ratio, theswinging of shaft 76 about bearing 74 will cause shaft 84 to rotate withrespect to gear 73. It will thus be seen that type wheel 85 may be madeto assume four positions with respect to gear '73 in accordance with thepositioning of pin 89 in any of the paths 64, 65, 65 or 67 of Fig. 1, inthe manner previously described.

By choosing the proper gear ratios and the vlength of the arms of lever81, the four positions of the type wheel 85 determined by the movementof pin 80 may be so chosen as to be intermediate those determined by themovement of rack 71 so that, when combined with the positions assumed inaccordance with the movement of rack 7l, thirty-two different positionsof the type wheel are obtainable.

Rack 71 and gears 73, 75, 77 and 78 are so arranged that the eightpositions of the rack 71, as determined by the settings of the selectorcam slides 23, 24 and 25, divide the circumference of the type wheel 85into eight divisions, while the position of the lever 81, as determinedby the setting of the cam slides 21 and 22, divides each one of theeight divisions again into four parts.

In addition to the two sets of slidable switches on the rotatable member1, a third switch 26 (Fig. l) is used to determine which of the twoprinter hammers 93.and 98 is to be operated. If the switch 26 is movedto the left, cam 37 will move to the left to co-operate with lever 92 tooperate print hammer 93. If switch 26 is moved to the right, cam 37 willmove to the right to co-operate with lever 97 to operate print hammer98.

If the printer hannner 98 is operated, the printing will occur from theupper row of type, whereas if the hammer 93 is operated, the printingwill occur from the lower row of type.

The printer hammers 93 and 98 are operated by the arms 92 and'97,respectively, which are mounted on the shaft or bearing 95, and a shaft96 serves as a stop to limit the movement of the arms in the directiontoward the printer hammers. A tension spring 94 connects with printerhammer 93 and arm 92, while spring 99 connects with hammer 98 and arm97.

The tape 100, passes between the type wheel 85 and the ends of thehammers 93 and 98, and is fed in a manner well known in the art.

If the cam 37 is positioned to the right it will engage the lowerportion 91 of the arm 97 and cause it and the upper portion l97 to moveabout the bearing 95, thus causing the upper portion and the hammer 98to draw away from the paper.

Whenthe cam 37 disengages the portion 91 of the arm it and the upperportion 97 will move in the Opposite direction under the tension ofspring 109. This will cause the upper portion 97 and the hammer 98 tomove forward. When lever 97 is stopped by pin 96 the hammer 98 willcontinue forward, due to its inertia, and strike the paper slip againstthe type wheel 85, thus impressing on the tape a character in the upperrow of type on the type wheel 85. Due to spring 99 the hammer 98 isimmediately returned to rest against lever 97.

In case the cam 37 is positioned to the left it will engage the lowerendV 90 of the armi and operate the upper portion 92 to causea characterin the lower row to be impressed on the tape 100 in the manner describedin connection with the impression of a character in the upper row.

In the illustration of my invention shown in Fig. 1, relay 2O is shownas consistingv of two windings 8 and 9. As already explained, currentthrough winding 8 will move the armature of relay to the left and thecurrent through winding 9 will move the armature to the right. Othermethods of operating armature l0, which are well known in the art, canYbe substituted for the one disclosed. For example, winding 8could bereplaced by a spring attached to armature lll-which would normally tendto move the latter to the left, or the entire relay 20 could be-replacedby a polar relay whereby current of one polarity through the winding ofthe relay would move armature 10 in one direction and current of theopposite polarity would move it in the reverse direction.

As already explained, my device is arranged to Y be operated by codesignals consisting of a start i impulse followed bysix selectingimpulsesand a stop pulse, all of equal length. In operation, the firstor start pulse of the code will move armature 10 to the left, therebycompleting the circuit for magnet 5 and causing the release of clutch 3.The release of clutch 3 will start the switching member l into rotation,at the same time positioning the switch member 14to the left. Since themechanism is started into operation by the receipt of the start impulseand since some time must necessarily be consumed between the actualbeginning of the start impulse and the beginning of the rotation of themember l, the latter will actually start-to rotate at a timecorresponding,

r approximately, with the middle portion of the J start impulse.

The switch members 31 to 36 inclusive are so located on member 1 thatthey will pass the switch member 14 on armature 10 at a timecorresponding to the middle portionV of the signal impulse associatedtherewith. It'will f thus be seen that the switch member 14 will bepositioned either to the right or to the left, in accordance with thesignal received before the switches 3l to 36 pass the point thereof. As

I member 1 rotates, therefore, the switches 3l lto 36 inclusive willfollow the path or paths determined by the position of theswitch 14 and,thereby, cause the slides 21 to 26 to assume positions as determined byswitch member 14. As shown in Fig. 1, pins and Si) follow the pathsformed l by the operation or non-operation of the slides `following thepaths formed by slides 23 to 25 determines the primary movement of thetype wheel.

The nal position assumed by the pin in following the paths formed byslides 21 and 22 determines the secondary movement of the type wheel.

Immediately following the final positioning of the type wheel, the cam37, depending upon its position, engag one or the other of thecontrolling arms or 91 tor cause the operation of hammer 98 or 93.

When the mechanism is brought to rest at the completion offa characterselection by the stop 4 engaging clutch 3, pins 70 and 80 are located inthe predetermined positions 51 to.58 and 64 to 67, respectively. Toposition these pins in accordance with a succeeding signal it is firstnecessary to return each pin to its neutral position. This isaccomplished, for pin 70, by cams 6? and 61 and, for pin 80, by cams 62and 63. By this means the type wheel is always restored to a neutralposition from its last selected position before being moved to a newselected position. The motion of the type Wheel is, therefore, ofanoscillatory nature. rather than continued rotation.

The selecting operations are all` positive in character, once theposition of thereceiving relay has been determined by the incomingsignals, since the .positioning of all the selecting elements, as wellas the type wheel, is accomplished under power of the driving motor.This is of considerable advantage in reducing the chances-for erroneousselections, as well as in reducing the noise of operation Instead ofproviding contacts on the receiving relay to operate the magnet 5 forcontrolling the clutch 3, the magnet 5 may be omitted and the clutchmechanically operated by the armature 11 105 ofv the receiving relay, asshown in U. S. Patent No. 1,931,099, above referred to.

What is claimed is:

1. In a telegraphprinter, the combination of a rotatable wheel having aplurality of characters, two sets of rotatable cams, means controlled byone set 01" saidcams for causing said wheel to rotate'a distance equalto the space occupied by a group or groups of characters, and meanscontrolled by the other set of cams for causing said wheel to rotate adistance equal to the space occupiedby one or more characters in agroup.

2. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a type wheel rotatable inytwo directions and provided with characters, two sets of rotatablecams. means controlled by the conjoint action of said cams during theirrotation for causing said type wheel to rotate in either or bothdirections.

3; Ina telegraph printer, the combination of a rotatable type-wheel, twosets of rotatable cams, i25 means for'adjusting the positions of saidcams, v means controlledby one set of cams according to their adjustment`to-cause a large degree oi rotation of said type wheel, and meanscontrolled by the other set of lcams according to their'v adjustment tocause a lesser degree of rotation of' said by the iirst of said sets ofcams to cause a primary M5 movement of said type wheel according to theadjustment of said rst set of cams, and means controlled by the secondset of cams to cause a secondary movement of said type wheel accordingto the adjustment of the second set of cams, the

combined primary and secondary movements serving to move said type wheelto position type thereon in line with said printer hammer accoi-ding tothe combined adjustment of both sets of cams.

6. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a type wheel movable toassume diierent positions, two sets of adjustable cams, means controlledby the rst set of cams for causing a primary movement of said type wheelin accordance with the adjustment of the first set of cams. and meanscontrolled by the second set of cams for causing a secondary movement ofsaid type wheel in accordance with the adjustment of the second set ofcams, the combination of both of said movements determining the positionto be assumed by said type wheel.

7. In a telegraph printer, the combination of means for receivingsignals, a plurality of adjustable cams, means controlled by saidreceiving means for adjusting said cams, a movable type wheel, and meanscontrolled by the adjustment of said cams for moving said type wheel inaccordance with the received signals, two printer hammers, means foroperating either one of said hammers for causing the recording by saidtype wheel of the received signals.

8. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a guide provided with aplurality of paths and having a member for following said paths,aimovable type wheel, means including a switch for determining which ofsaid paths is to be followed by said member, the path followed by saidmember controlling the degree oi movement of said type wheel.

9. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a plurality of slidablecams mounted on a rotatable member, a guide provided with a plurality ofpaths controllable by said cams, a type wheel and a controlling devicetherefor, means for causing said cams to operate in varying combinationsduring the rotation of said member, the operation of said cams causingsaid controlling device to follow a path according to the combination inwhich said cams are operated and to control the operation or" said typewheel.

10. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a rotatable memberprovided with slidable switches, a receiving relay responsive toincoming f signals for causing the operation of saidswitches, a typewheel, means controlled by the operation of said switches during therotation of said member for controlling the operation of said typewheel.

11. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a rotatable vmemberprovided with slidable switches, means responsive to incoming signalsfor causing the operation of said switches, a type wheel, meanscontrolled by the'operation of said switches during the rotation of saidmember for controlling the operation of said type wheel.

12. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a gear operated typewheel, a rotatable mem-f ber provided with slidable switches, meansresponsive to incoming signals for causing the operation of saidswitches, the operation of said switches determining the operation ofsaid type wheel.

13. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a plurality of adjustablecams, a type wheel movable to different positions, a set of gears, meanscontrolled by the adjustment of said cams for operating said gears todetermine the position to be assumed by said type wheel.

14. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a plurality of adjustablecams, a movable arm and a slidable rack, a type wheel movable todifferent positions by means of differential gears means controlled bythe adjustment of said cams to move said arm and slide said rack tocause the operation of said gears to position said type wheel inaccordance with the adjustment of said cams.

15. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a type wheel movable todiierent positions, two movable arms, gears having other than unityratio, means for moving said arms to cause the operation of said gearsto determine the position to be assumed by said type wheel.

16. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a type wheel movable todifferent positions, two movable arms, gears having other than unityratio, a plurality of adjustable cams, means controlled by theadjustment of said cams to move said arms, the movement of which causesthe operation of said gears to position said type wheel in accordancewith the adjustment of said cams.

17. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a type wheel movable intwo directions, two movableY arms, gears which co-operate with oneanother and with said arms, a set of rotatable adjustable cams, meanscontrolled by the adjustment of said cams to move said arms, themovement of which causes the operation of said gears to move said typewheel in either or both directions during the rotation of said cams.

18. In a telegraph printer, the combination of a movable type wheel,means comprising a plurality ofadjustable cams for causing said typewheel .to move to a position in accordance with said adjustment, twoprinter hammers, means for causing the operation of either of saidhammers to co-operate with said type wheel after it has moved to itsadjusted position.

19. In a telegraph printer the combination of a type carrying membermovable in a plurality of directions, a plurality of cam members, aplurality of cam followers cio-operating in controlling the movement ofsaid type carrying member, and means responsive to a signal impulse fordetermining which cams will engage said cam followers.

ERW'IN P.,BANCROFT.

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